On the road to progress
The Cavite-Laguna Expressway, more popularly known as the CALAX, is a four-lane, 45-kilometer, high-speed highway that will start at the Manila-Cavite Expressway or CAVITEX in Kawit, Cavite, and will exit near the Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEX)-Mamplasan Interchange in Laguna. Simply put, it is an expressway that will connect the CAVITEX to the SLEX.
Cavite and Laguna are acknowledged centers of industrial and commercial growth, not just in Southern Luzon but also in the entire Philippines. Economic growth brings with it traffic congestion because of the movement of people, goods, and services; thus, the need for more and better roads and highways.
CALAX is expected to provide faster, safer, more reliable, and more comfortable road travel between the two provinces and the rest of Southern Luzon. This will also impact on socio-economic growth in the whole of Luzon and the rest of the country.
This Build-Transfer-Operate (BTO) project, the inception of which was in 2015, is built at a cost of P35.43 billion and is a public-private partnership with government, implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and private proponent MPCALA Holdings, Inc.
MPCALA Holdings is one of two companies under Metro Pacific Tollway South (MPT South) Corp., which, in turn, is a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC), now the biggest tollway builder and operator in the Philippines.
MPTC, in turn, is also a subsidiary — the toll road management and holding company of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. under the chairmanship of Manuel V. Pangilinan.
Rod Franco sits at the helm of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., while Bobby Bontia is president and general manager of MPT South Corp., as well as of the Cavitex Infrastructure Corp. and MPCALA Holdings Inc. under MPT South.
Just recently, MPCALA Holdings inaugurated the Silang East Interchange section of the CALAX. This fourth section is an additional five kilometers that was opened to public use between the Silang East Interchange and the Santa Rosa-Tagaytay Road Interchange.
With the completion of this section, motorists can now travel from Mamplasan in Biñan, Laguna, up to Silang East, exiting at Tibig Road in Silang, Cavite. It is expected to serve 5,000 motorists (daily) and help in decongesting traffic coming from the Sta. Rosa – Tagaytay Road and Governor’s Drive, Aguinaldo Highway.
The opening of this section likewise extends the operating sections of the CALAX from 10 kilometers to 14.24 kilometers.
The inaugural ceremonies were attended by Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar, with Sen. Bong Go, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Transportation Secretary Art Tugade, Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla, and Silang Mayor Corrie Poblete.
Also in attendance were Metro Pacific president Jose Ma. Lim, MPTC president and CEO Rod Franco, MPTC CFO Chris Lizo, MPCALA president and general manager Bobby Bontia, and select members of the project team.
According to Bontia, MPCALA is “grateful for the trust and continued partnership with the government of the Philippines in providing the much-needed mobility infrastructure in the form of CALAX to help boost tourism and economic activity in the CALABARZON region.”
Indeed, projects such as these go a long way to fast-tracking the economic development and recovery of the nation, especially during this time of the pandemic.
This is another prime example of how public-private partnership works in moving the nation forward faster, safer, and more efficiently.
Safe travels, everyone.
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